1. All of the concepts in here are my own personal explanations from my own personal testing over the years on different networks, different computers, and different settings.

2. When it comes to ping [numbers] Everyone's lead is generally the exact same. My 67, is your 67, no matter where and who you are or what pc / network you have. (config / reaction speeds / timing / proper shooting concepts make a huge difference on how lead looks)

3. The majority of this leading tutorial is based on the bullet speed of the pistol and how lead is effected based on a few concepts.

4. This tutorial explains that there are two different types of leads you must utilize when shooting. Even if you have been playing for 5+ years, I recommend that you read this tutorial (from beginning to end).

5. The term 1.5+ seconds is an approximate amount, not an exact amount.

The Introduction

The largest misconceptions about leading are derived from player reaction speeds and bullet magnetism. Every shot that you fire, should be timed precisely according to how your opponent is moving. A few things you should know about leading before we continue:

Lead is caused from latency. There is a delay between you and the server. However, even zero latency between yourself and the server will still require leading because of how Halo was designed (I'll explain this further down). Where you see someone on YOUR screen is NOT where they are on THEIR screen. The cool thing about lead is that it lets you shoot them where they really are. According to your perspective of your target, you will change how much you lead shots on the fly based on a few things, and those are (from biggest factors to smallest):

Your ping

How your opponent is currently moving

The distance between your gun and your target

How you are moving

Before we talk about lead factors, let's talk about Halo physics.

Halo Physics Leading

The physics behind Halo requires you to "lead" shots even in zero ping. So we are going to talk about "leading" in zero ping (no this doesn't directly apply to Sapps' No-Lead mod. I haven't tested it enough but I'm sure similar concepts will apply). If someone is standing still, you can shoot directly at their body.. and it will hit. Shoot too fast and a few shots might miss because of bullet spread. Shoot with your reticle centred on their head and it will hit.

Reticle (your aim) vs Body (your target) -- 0 PING / 0 latency

If someone is moving right for approximately 1.5+ seconds, the left side of your reticle should be placed on the right side of their body. Pretend your opponent is moving right still, and is just about to move left (in zero ping you can see their feet twist to indicate this in a timely manner) your next timed shot if timed right can be DIRECTLY on their body / head as they come back and are now heading left (see examples for a timed-lead direct shot) Note that most players will pause their shooting, and would rather start shooting their targets next direction than place such a timed shot. Pretend your opponent continues moving left and has now been moving left for a total of 1.5+ seconds - the right side of your reticle should now be placed on the left side of their body. This concept is why people think good players don't have to lead. Good players don't wait for people to move a certain direction before timing their shots - they utilize every timing sequence they can get their filthy little cross-hairs on :p. Keep in mind I'm still talking about zero latency, 0 ping.

For head shots, you'll place your shots using the same concepts, either above their shoulders or directly centred, depending on their movement. Be aware that the centre of your reticle is the key factor to getting head shots. Now, if someone just taps right or left, they aren't moving for approx. 1.5 seconds in any direction, so in 0 ping, you can shoot directly at them for good results. Therefore if someone is moving right approx. 1.5 seconds, the centre of your reticle needs to be slightly to the right of their head. (I like to aim in the top right/left corners of their head above their shoulders) The reticle needs to be centred on their head if they aren't moving 1.5 seconds in a direction.. (aka standing still or making short movements). Bullet magnetism corrects a lot of this thankfully so precision isn't as important as the concepts themselves. Note that with the more distance, the further you have to aim on the sides of their body to make your bullets hit (bullet speed - takes longer to get the bullets there by the time they move). What I'm trying to say here, is that in 0 ping, according to distance, your aim doesn't always need to be all the way on either side of their body to make up for bullet speed. The key here is to learn how to match bullet speed to movement speed, which is what in fact creates 'physics leading'.

Applying Lead (time offset - a.k.a. ping)

Now let's apply lead to these concepts. You must note that lead is time offset. This means not only do you have to lead Halo physics (match bullet speed to movement speed), but you have to lead time as well. You must still apply Halo physics and also time and shoot players where they really are, not where you see them on your screen. So, with the above concepts, you will now apply a time offset of either 33, 67, 100, 134, 167, 200, 234, 267, 300, 334, 367, 400 ms (milliseconds). If someone is moving right for 1.5 seconds+ , your lead will be bigger than if they just start moving right. A key thing to note here, that like I explained above, if they are moving right and your aim is to the right of them (according to your lead) you can place a shoot DIRECTLY at them if you anticipate them to move left. If timed right, and you shoot directly at them before they move left, your shot will hit (this depends on when you shoot directly at them, what your ping is, and whether or not they were about to change directions). Most people like to place their anticipated shots directly to the left of their targets body even if they have a lead of 100ms +. There are many different ways and angles to time/anticipate shots. The difficulty here is learning the time offsets of different milliseconds. Your anticipations will be different for each ping. If you are going to anticipate, you must learn to time your shots for your ping. (I personally suggest learning the basic Halo physics first :p)

Notes

There are two leads that come into factor, Halo physics leading, and time offset leading, If you are playing normal Halo (not using no-lead mods) you will always have to lead time. If you only have to lead for time in a situation and not worry about Halo physics (opponent is using short movements/back-strafing - see below) your lead is going to be smaller than if you have to lead both time and Halo physics. This also gets more confusing, because as your target moves, their movements take them further and faster the longer they move, and shorter and slower when they have just started moving, so this causes your lead to gradually grow and shrink as you are shooting.

Back Strafing:Effected by = Movement, Effects = physics lead / timeAnother thing to note, is that even if someone has been moving right for more than 1.5+ seconds, you only need to lead for time if they are about to move left, which is called back strafing (this is purely anticipation shooting for these types of shots). This means your lead can be small when they are about to come back. So if your aim is on the right of them as they are about to move left, as they slow down your lead can be smaller than if they would have kept going right. Usually bullet magnetism makes up for these factors as well. (I'd say it confuses the crap out of people lol)

TEST IT:

Code:

Blood Gulch -- 67 + pingHave a friend start strafing right for a few seconds, Instruct him to strafe the opposite way after 4 seconds or so. Match his speed and place your mouse directly to the right of him so that your aim turns red. Start firing when you get it aligned and red. (your shots will miss). As he starts to go the other way, your shots that are placed directly next to him will hit. (at least one of them :p) Repeat if you time wrong ;]

Bullet Magnetism: Effected by = Physics lead & TimeThis is the effect that when you shoot while as long as even the edge of your reticle (your aim circle) resides on part of their hit-box (body - even the edge), your shot will still hit them as if it's directly centred on their body. However, bullet spread (shooting too fast) will negate this effect. Head shots I am not 100% sure, but I believe the bullet magnetism for head shots is a nuisance, it will make your shots (if aiming too low) hit the shoulders and do partial damage rather than a head shot. It's best to aim as high as you're comfortable with when using bullet magnetism for head shots.

TEST IT:

Code:

Find an afk in a server. Place the edge of your aim as far away from the edge of a persons body as you can and fire. Get closer and closer till you hear the "ding" confirming "Oh me gawsh, BULLET MAGNETISM CORRECTED ME SHOOTINGS!"

How you are moving:Effects = Physics leadAs you move left, your shots hit more to the right, and as you move right, your shots hit more to the left. Therefore if you move right and shoot someone who is moving left at the same time, your physics lead will be very slightly smaller.

Fortunately, bullet magnetism greatly corrects these shots so it's not that big of a concept. However it is useful for understanding blind shots (shooting around an object with only 1/3rd of your body visible as you fire). That term was coined by a player named fata1ity many years ago I believe.

TEST IT:

Code:

Go in a server, load LAN Network: Ratrace. Turn decals on. (location: from shields to camo) You'll shoot at a wall but wont move your AIM (mouse), instead you will move only your feet. Start moving right, and shoot a line (click each shot). There will be the same space between each shot.

Then, put your mouse up a little, right above the last shot you got on the wall, start shooting and moving the same as you did before except going left. This way you make two rows one above the other. Notice how your pistol sways.

Note where they land differently. Repeat for more results.

Tips on smaller lead perspectives:

A higher refresh rate will cause your lead to appear smaller. If your monitor is displaying as 16:9, change this setting and make it smaller. It will cause your lead to appear smaller, and your mouse movements will also be smaller.. including your F.O.V.

Examples and Ping

In this shot, the target has not been moving right for 1.5+ seconds, therefore the centre of my reticle only needs to lead time of 33 ms, with no need to lead Halo physics:

In this shot, the target has been moving left for 1.5+ seconds and I also make use of bullet magnetism (the middle of my reticle is on spot but only the edge of my aim is touching where he REALLY is). In this shot I lead Halo physics and time.

In this shot, My target just came back from moving left, so I only need to lead time:

In this shot my target had been moving right 1.5+ seconds, so I must lead time and Halo physics:

Video example's to watch and understand lead:Understand that the more you understand these concepts, the more you will be able to see why certain shots hit and why certain shots don't, and why pistol battles last so long. (usually improper shooting or bad anticipation, or slow reaction - this happens to everyone, even the best players sometimes face opponents who make a move that is unexpected and throws off our aim/timing/leading)

If you see me in-game, double check that I'm on xfire for that server. I don't alias and I'm on xfire when I play, always. --- edit 2017, used to be. Also, used to always be on anticheat. Now it's all fucked for a moment but not forever I feel.

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